In healthcare facilities, microorganisms may be released onto surfaces (e.g., solid surfaces, equipment surfaces, clothing, etc.) from infected individuals or otherwise. Once a surface becomes contaminated with microorganisms, contact with the contaminated surface may easily and readily transfer microorganisms to other locations, such as another surface, an individual, equipment, food, or the like. In addition, some of the patients of such facilities suffer from infections by pathogenic microbes and, thus, bring the pathogenic microbes into such facilities. Such microbial contamination and/or transfer can be particularly troublesome because many of those who are present in such facilities (e.g., patients) are sick and may be immunologically compromised. Such individuals therefore have an increased risk of becoming sick from infection by the contaminating microbes.
Contaminated surfaces in a hospital or healthcare setting have been found to contribute to the epidemic and endemic transmission of a variety of microorganisms or pathogens, including Clostridium difficile, vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE), methycillin-resistent Stapholococcus aureus (MRSA), Acinetobacter baumannii, and Psuedomonas aeruginosa, as well as to the epidemic transmission of norovirus. Such pathogens have been associated with Healthcare Acquired Infections (HAIs). While environmental cleaning and disinfecting practices have become routine in such healthcare settings, there is still a need for a facile, structured, and robust monitoring system and method for monitoring an environment's cleanliness, and for monitoring the effectiveness of various cleaning and/or disinfecting procedures.
Some existing monitoring systems employ a UV dye marking system in a transparent carrier. The glow from the UV dye can only be observed using an appropriate black light, such that the dyes are invisible to environmental services (EVS) staff during the cleaning procedures. Typically, an EVS manager can apply the marking system to a number of surfaces in a patient room, an operating room, or the like, prior to cleaning. The surfaces that have been marked are unknown to the EVS cleaning staff. After cleaning, the EVS manager (e.g., shift manager) can return to the room with a black light to inspect the marked surfaces and establish whether the marking system was thoroughly removed from the surfaces of interest.